


Still Falling for You [Podfic]

by Imanga



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hmong in French Guyana, F/M, Gift Podfic, My First Podfic, NaruHina Secret Santa 2020, Podfic, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 51
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28340316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imanga/pseuds/Imanga
Summary: Diversity is not about how we differ. It is about embracing one another's uniqueness- Ola JosephA reading of ChloeLaPomme's chapter 28 of herStill Falling for Youfanfiction, recorded for the NaruHina Secret Santa 2020 event
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Still Falling for You [Podfic]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChloeLaPomme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeLaPomme/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Still Falling for You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22087735) by [ChloeLaPomme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeLaPomme/pseuds/ChloeLaPomme). 



> Beginning of December, I stumbled across a Tumblr post recounting the Podfic phenomenon on Ao3, how its community worked, and a how-to on making Podfics that piqued my interest. Being an avid Podcast listener myself, my first thought at that time was "oh, but what a nice way to consume fanfictions even when you don't have the opportunity to sit down and read!" and the idea of giving it a go soon bloomed in my empty brain. 
> 
> Taking advantage of the NHSS2020 event, I somehow convinced myself that it was a totally fine (and not cringey at all) gift to give to an internet friend and therefore, one night, soon past midnight, I started recording Chapter 28 of ChloeLaPomme's _Still Falling for You_ fic, still firmly believing that this would make a fun, light, _easy and short_ present to make (boy, was I wrong).
> 
> It took me 5 hours to record a passable version. 16 more to edit.
> 
> Just like there is no short-cute to becoming Hokage, there is none to making a good Podfic and this one is not even close to being average, sorry 😂 My weird English accent, the mispronunciation errors that found their way through the final version for I didn't notice them at the time and didn't have a mic with me anymore to re-record the words, those awful mouth sounds, saying distinctively _Chapter 32_ at the beginning when it's chapter 28... Damn, you can even hear how hard I'm trying to curb my natural, fast word delivery, for my speech delivery is incredibly awkward at times! Oh and let's forget that, near the end, you can literally _hear_ the life slowly leaving my body as we were nearing 6 a.m. and all I could only think of was how tired I felt! Man...
> 
> I've waffled back and forth for quite some time regarding whether or not I should send it to you, but eventually, I figured out that I had spent soooo much time on this harbor of love that I had to at least share it, so much as to make you laugh with my failed initiative, finding solace in the fact, this being a Podfic, no one will apart from their recipient, will click on it (fingers crossed).
> 
> You don't have to listen to it, ChloeLaPomme. But just so you know, it is here ahahah
> 
> [Interested about why I picked this chapter of all? Head for the endnotes!]

**Fic:** [_Still Falling for You_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22087735/chapters/63813241)by [ChloeLaPomme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeLaPomme/pseuds/ChloeLaPomme)

 **Reader:** Imanga

 **Fandom:** Naruto

**Ship:** Uzumaki Naruto/Hyuuga Hinata 

**Rating:** General Audience

 **Warnings:** No warnings

Various sound clips from the Youtube playlist [_Nouvel an à Javouhey décembre 2018_](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_AI5q5S-cfPCuokThKYmsW2tLo9Gbito)

[ _Hmong Tsiab Peb Caug_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGy48CM01A) by Win Vang Ft. NkaujLig Hawj 

[Imanga](https://soundcloud.com/imanga) · [Still Falling for You [Podfic]](https://soundcloud.com/imanga/still-falling-for-you-podfic)

**Author's Note:**

> **Language Trivia**
> 
> Did you know that one's tone can dramatically change from one language to another? 
> 
> Although one could argue that in this recording, my voice is already quite low for a woman, its pitch drops significatively when I'm speaking Spanish, a language known for having a lower range than others. On the other hand, my voice goes distinctively higher when speaking Korean, something that my body always finds really tiring and that is pretty common to people switching to higher pitch languages.
> 
> **My thoughts on the chapter**
> 
> When I decided that I wanted to do a _dramatic reading_ *cough cough* of one of ChloeLaPomme's chapters, I had originally envisioned doing the first part of _Hands_ which, at the time of my first reading, had had a strong effect on me; however, it was only the beginning of a multichapter short story and therefore, I kept on reading the rest of her _Still Falling for You_ compilation... Until I stumbled upon this one-shot.
> 
> I am not going to pretend that I know which intentions the author was trying to convey with this piece, only to share how I interpreted it and why it stroke me as a powerful piece.
> 
> As a child and a teenager, my family moved countries and when we settled back in France, I was sent to attend an international school: some of my classes were in French, others weren't. Some of my classes fitted the national French high school program, some did not. Some of my friends and classmates were 100% French and most were not. 
> 
> I spoke a weird mix of French, English and Spanish most of the time, watched well-known American reality shows that no one knew back then in France, listened to artists whose albums were nowhere to be found in stores and even though we were in France, even though I was French, all of this _Third culture kid_ phenomenon ended up creating, for me and a couple of other old friends of mine, a weird cultural dissonance, a permanent _stranger in a strange land_ feel that has never quite left me to this day and that tends to make me feel culturally inadequate sometimes in my own country, with my "own" people (like that time in Uni where I had to explain to a teacher that, even though I studied in France, I had never followed a single French geography class).
> 
> This feeling of inadequacy that Naruto is feeling, I felt it and I believe the author did too, to some extend at least. More than a cute love story, this chapter is a tale of how one envisions their cultural identity and place in a society that somewhat diverges from who we culturally are. The feeling of inadequacy Naturo is experiencing when facing a cultural group that did not abandon their ways when merging with "his people", the identity struggle he endures as a product of French colonialism in a region where white people aren't the majority, the disregarded issue of how one does fit in a place that is "technically" their country and therefore, should supposedly fit their cultural background but where they end up actually being a minority, as well as the underlying ongoing debate of integration vs assimilation truly spoke to me and made me look as the background implications of this chapter as incredibly relevant.
> 
>  _I have been a stranger in a strange land_ is a quote that I cherish and believe applies to Naruto is this particular context, for he's feeling as an outsider in the community that he lives, heavily influenced by a culture different from the one of the oversea region they live him, therefore creating a never-ending loop: the Hmongs feel foreign for keeping their traditions, which in turn is making Naruto feel foreign for not sharing their physical features nor cultural characteristics, which in turn is reminding the Hmongs that they are foreign...
> 
> I'm probably reading into this way too much but I truly thought that, beyond the cute cross-cultural love story, there were a lot of thought-provoking little sentences and implied context that made this one-shot a definite must-read to me.
> 
> Extra kudo to the author 🥰


End file.
